


Smile Me Some Love

by Yifera



Series: Angels love dimples [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Love Confessions, M/M, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-27
Updated: 2017-12-27
Packaged: 2019-02-22 15:30:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,930
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13169847
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Yifera/pseuds/Yifera
Summary: Castiel tried but couldn't find the reason why Sam avoided standing too close to him.





	Smile Me Some Love

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KitHourglass](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KitHourglass/gifts).



> This is a little christmas present for my best friend (I would tag you if you had an ao3 account jerk :P) and the one and only KitHourGlass, also fabulous friend and my only beta reader! That also means this is so very un-betaed... I'm so sorry for any mistakes this might have, I did my best for ya! (Edit 04/01: Now edited! Thanks Kit! <3)
> 
> For anyone else who's stopped to read, I hope you enjoy it and merry whatever you celebrate on this dates! :)

Sam’s behavior when he was around him definitely wasn’t the standard.

For how long this had been going Castiel didn't exactly know.

He could blame that on his nature as an angel, but if he was being honest he had never been extremely observant of human mannerisms, even in his time as a human himself.

Castiel had noticed it in the middle of a hunt.

It had been a simple thing. Sam had murmured something to him while Dean interrogated a woman, supposedly best friend of the victim, who seemed to be far more interested in batting her product-stained eyelashes at Dean than giving them any useful information. To keep the conversation far from her ears Castiel had whispered back, leaning in for good measure. He most probably would have missed it, if Castiel hadn’t been looking straight into Sam’s face. Alas, he had, and that’s how he found himself watching with a mix of curiosity and confusion how Sam leaned in too just for a split second before he quickly retreated, turning his head in the opposite direction and clearing his throat.

That had been quite out of place, considering their conversation was not exactly over and how it brought up the attention of the woman in the room, who seemed to just remember Dean was not the only person present and thus considerably shortened their time in the house.  
Had it been because of the content of their conversation? Castiel replayed their whispers in his head but couldn’t exactly be sure how a comment about possible hex bags could be a reason for Sam to retreat. It didn’t seem likely either as Sam had kept talking to him normally and even resumed the hex bag conversation when they were outside the house.

This incredibly small moment bothered Castiel all evening. Sam was not one to do such things. He was a smart, thoughtful and methodic hunter, even if sometimes he got carried away by –mostly Dean’s– reckless ideas, those usually went down when lives were in danger, so it didn’t apply.

As much as Castiel said to himself it was probably nothing, he found himself paying close attention to his friend.

That’s how he noticed it a second time, that same day back in the motel room. Castiel leaned over Sam’s shoulder to look at his laptop and, like before, Sam leaned back into him for a moment while he talked, but then immediately straightened himself and proceeded to move his chair to one side so Castiel had the screen right in front of him.

Maybe it was the closeness then? Dean had pointed out on more than one occasion Castiel was atrocious with personal space. But... he thought he had gotten better at it. Though Castiel had to admit he had not paid attention to this particular issue for a long time now, so maybe he had grown careless without noticing.

The next day he willed himself to pay closer attention to other people and see if what was a considered ‘normal’ distance applied to himself. It was not an easy task.

Everyone was frustratingly different. Some seemed to consider four feet was a polite distance, others six... and others one. When he felt he was in no way making progress he went to ask Dean. His friend grimaced at him at first, like this was something he should already know, but then proceeded to explain without another complaint.

By afternoon Castiel thought he finally understood that personal space was mainly about two things: how ‘close’ – _no, Cas, not literally close_ – the people involved were and their own personal preferences regarding said space.  
Castiel considered he was as ‘close’ as he could be to Sam, with the exception of Dean of course. So that meant maybe it was about Sam's own personal preference with space.

So, it was time to observe Sam himself closely.

It didn't help.

Sam was polite and respectful of other's boundaries, but when it came to his own personal space he seemed to have no trouble having people close to him. It wasn't rare for him to give hugs and pat shoulders and in general stand close to people he cared about, even those who were practically strangers.

But when Castiel got close to Sam that night in a pub -so he could be heard over the noise and inform him that Dean had decided to go “hook-up” for a while- he got the exact same reaction for the eleventh time since Castiel had started to observe all this.  
And Castiel couldn’t help but feel… hurt. Because apparently, whatever it was that he had found out was strictly bound to him, particularly. Maybe it was because Castiel was an angel. Was he reminding Sam of Lucifer? Gadreel? Sam had not had good experiences with angels after all… including Castiel himself years back.

Finally, and wondering if he shouldn’t have done this from the beginning, Castiel decided to confront Sam about this when they got to the motel room –Dean having gone his own way with a girl a while back–. After all, Sam was his friend and he didn’t want to overstep any unknown boundaries.

That's how they were now, standing in the middle of the room with their coats still on as Castiel finished expressing his worries and Sam’s expression of bewilderment only grew with each passing second. When Castiel finally finished there was a silence where Sam just blinked down at him as if Castiel had been talking in enochian all along, but then realization slowly hit his features.

Castiel definitely wasn’t expecting Sam to let out a mortified groan and cover his face with a hand as if he were… embarrassed?

“I’m sorry, Cas. It’s not… it’s not what you think.” Sam muttered into his hand, he sat onto the edge of the bed sighing and after a moment looked back with a hesitant smile. “Sorry I made you worry, you really weren’t doing anything wrong. And I’m fine, really.”

“But…” Castiel frowned, that didn't make sense, he knew something was going on and he knew it had something to do with him. Or had he misread everything? He was aware he could be dense sometimes, but Castiel was sure there had to be something there. “But... you are obviously uncomfortable when I’m too close to you and if I can do something to change it I--“

Sam raised his head from his hand. “It’s because I like you, Cas.”

Castiel blinked, taken aback by the interruption… and the words Sam had just said.

“But… I like you too.” He replied, confused, Castiel hadn’t thought that was a secret. Besides, how could that have anything to do with Sam backing away from his presence?

Sam laughed shortly, some of the tension melting away from the line of his shoulders but then he shook his head.

“No, Cas, not that kind of like.” He said, his smile turning a little sad. “Come on, you’re smart, you can figure it out.”

Castiel narrowed his eyes at him wondering why in the world he was being so cryptic, what could he possibly be hinting him at?

“The definition of ‘like’ sustains that I must find you enjoyable, agreeable or satisfactory. As you hold all this characteristics and more I think I’m not wrong to say I like you too.” Castiel tilted his head. “Or are you using the word as a substitute to a similar one?”

Sam sighed, long and heavy, scratching at the back of his neck with an almost pained expression.

“Yes, that’s a good lead, Cas. Follow it.”

There weren’t too many synonyms for the word ‘like’, really. Enjoy, prefer, approve, care for, love…

Was it love he was hinting at? But… he loved Sam too. He and Dean, they were his family. And he knew Sam loved Dean too... but he didn’t seem to have any kind of problem with him being near like he did with Castiel.

Then again -even while not probable- Sam could be talking about romantic love, but usually that was attached to sexual attraction for the other party and…

Wait…

Like in one of those flashbacks from the movies he sometimes watched in their crappy motel rooms –there was little to do while the brothers slept– Castiel’s mind replayed in a rush all the moments he and Sam had spent together lately. The way Sam’s eyes sometimes lingered on him, how he seemed equal times reluctant and eager at any physical touch, how he sometimes seemed to get flustered at random times…

Oh, so he meant…

Oh.

As the revelation sunk in Castiel started to feel his face and neck get very warm, a feeling he was not familiar with settled in his stomach and he probably opened his mouth several times before managing to mutter something.

“I-…. I see…”

It wasn’t like he didn’t felt that same way towards Sam. He did, had for a long time now, it was only natural. His time as a human had opened him to those kind of feelings, and Sam hadn’t only proved to be a good friend and a remarkable human being, he was also gifted with a striking set of features and physique... But Castiel had quickly discarded the idea of those feelings being mutual long ago as Sam had never shown any interest on the same gender. Castiel hadn't had a problem to accept this, nor he had expected it to ever change... that's why the possibility hadn't even crossed his mind.

And now here he was, with said stunning man confessing he had those same sort of feelings for him particularly.

For him, Castiel, angel of the Lord, who apparently was still way too naïve to connect the dots and identify one of the most common behaviors of human kind.

“Yes… alright, that makes sense…” Castiel mumbled, he tried but somehow couldn’t bring himself to look up at Sam. “I guess… yes, well, it fits your behavior, no doubt. Certainly no doubts about that, none…”

He tried to put order to his head, to give a proper answer to this confession. But how did that work? This had never happened to him before. Not in this way at least, not as sudden, not coming from one of the persons that mattered most to him on planet Earth…

Castiel’s brain helpfully supplied him with the common knowledge that a confession usually had the ultimate intention of starting a romantic relationship with someone.

“If that means you… Sam, I don’t know how…”

“Cas.” Sam’s voice was firm but soft, Castiel hadn't realized that at some point Sam had gotten back up into his feet, he had his hands up and was smiling softly at him. “Don’t worry, I’m not expecting you to go out with me.”

Castiel felt himself sigh and relax a little. Not because he didn’t want it –he probably wouldn’t mind one bit– but… at least now there was one thing less he had to figure out. Human romantic relationships seemed so… complicated. He wasn’t sure he could just jump into one. Even with Sam.

“You are not?” Castiel asked just in case.

“Do you even know anything about my romantic history?” Sam shook his head vehemently, laughing shortly but without humor. “Honestly, I’m not sure I could anymore. I just wanted you to get it, so you understand why I sometimes act… odd around you. I don’t want you to misunderstand things and get worried again.” Sam sighed, carding his fingers through his hair, almost anxiously. “Look, I'm sorry. I understand if now you’re uncomfortable about this…”

“I’m not, I’m not… I just… No one has ever…” Suddenly the nervousness shifted into something new and Castiel found himself smiling widely. He couldn’t help it. “You love me?”

Sam looked taken aback, even a bit confused. He was also blushing considerably.

“Um… yes? You seem… happy about it?”

“Sam, you just said you _love_ me.” Castiel said, throwing extra emphasis in the word to remark upon it’s meaning. Somehow saying it out loud made his chest swell with joy. “I am beyond flattered and yes, happy, very happy. I definitely wasn’t expecting it and I don’t know how to respond… but what is there not to be happy about?” He felt his cheeks burn at the bewildered look Sam was giving him, somehow –even when he had to avert his gaze– that only made him grin even wider. “I apologize, now that I know this is probably how I will respond when you act… odd, as you say.”

“Are you honestly apologizing for being happy you dumbass?”

“I guess…?” Castiel shrugged. “This is quite new to me.”

Sam shook his head, but finally he smiled too, a fond expression softening his features. “You really are one of a kind, you know that?”

“Oh, am I?” Castiel retorted almost playfully, his chest fluttering at the thought that, yes, he must be for Sam. Because Sam loved him. He couldn’t stop thinking about it.

“My, my, Castiel.” Sam arched an eyebrow, an amused smirk replacing the previous soft one. “Don’t tell me you get flirty when happy.”

“Is this flirting? I’ve never done that before.” Castiel was honestly very lost on that area, he tried to piece together what little he knew about it. “Doesn’t that usually involve more… offerings of free alcohol?”

Sam openly laughed, a loud happy sound that made dimples appear on his cheeks. Castiel couldn’t even think of faking offense at being laughed at when he looked like that.

“We are not in a bar, Cas.” Sam said when he managed to stop snickering.

“We could get back to one?” Castiel shrugged, deciding he liked this playful banter.

Sam's eyebrows rose up high. “Do you actually want to invite me to a drink?”

Castiel smiled as he realized he hadn't matched Sam’s confession yet, feeling bolder he took a step closer. “Would that be a good way to demonstrate that I’m most certainly sure I like you too?”

Sam took a breath that was almost a gasp, he didn't blink for several seconds. Castiel had never seen him this speechless before.

“You--“ Sam was leaning closer, but he stopped, ducked his head instead and cleared his throat loudly... just like all those other times Castiel had noticed this last days. The difference was that now Castiel knew what it meant, as well as the blush spreading on Sam’s cheeks. He briefly wondered if that was something new or if he just hadn’t noticed before. “Yes… um, that would be one way to… yeah.” Sam's voice was somewhat shaky.

“Can I then?” Castiel said softly, fondness filling him as he watched Sam, at how the nervousness seemed to have switched places from one to the other.

Sam was biting at his lip, almost as if he were having trouble with knowing what to say next. “Cas… didn’t we just imply a minute ago neither of us wanted a relationship?”

“We did.” Castiel granted softly.

“But… we’ve just basically confessed to each other.” Sam muttered, a breathy incredulous laugh leaving him as he finally looked back at Castiel.

Castiel hummed in agreement, the thought of being the object of affection of this man making him smile again. “And now we both know we love each other.” It was really as simple as that.

“Okay…” Sam shook his head, almost amazement shining in his eyes. He slowly brought his hand up, brushing Castiel’s cheek with his fingertips. “God, you are smiling so much…”

“I’m happy, Sam.” Castiel said, simply, he mirrored Sam and poked softly at one of his dimples. Sam rarely smiled, not like this, not so openly. “And you are smiling as well.”

Castiel breathed out, letting himself enjoy this moment, the closeness in the cheap motel room, the calm unrushed feeling in his chest and the beautiful man in front of him, all wide hazel eyes that were looking at him as if he had never truly seen him before.

“Right now, that’s more than enough.” He sighed and allowed his smile to grow into a full on grin. “So, a drink?”

Castiel could stop and listen to Sam’s delighted laughter all night.

-._.-._.-._.-

The case was done, they were all packed up and heading back to the bunker.

The road was clear, Baby was purring softly... and Dean couldn’t help but keep double checking Sam and Cas, completely puzzled as to why they both had huge shit-eating grins permanently plastered on their faces.

He wasn’t exactly complaining, seeing them smile for real was nice -though he probably would never admit it out loud- but what the fuck had he missed?

The teasing started not very long afterwards, first with silly little things here and there, as Dean tried to figure out what was going on with them… Then scaling them up just for the fun of it because somehow not even his crudest jokes could darken their bright mood.

Eventually all was understood when the next day he jokingly yelled ‘Get a room!’ when he found them smiling at each other over breakfast. There was no come-back, from either of them, they simply avoided looking at him for the rest of the morning, blushing like teenagers… Dean almost dropped his favorite cup as the revelation finally hit him.

After that, Dean smiled way more often too.

And if it was at the expense of the newborn hesitant -and so easily teaseable- dance between his baby brother and his best friend… well, that was his own business.

**Author's Note:**

> I've been wanting for some time now to write something canon-verse where everything is simple and nothing hurts. 
> 
> I would have made them go out on dates and kiss and elope. But as I said, I really wanted to keep it uncomplicated for some reason *cough* becauseIhaveanotherstoryIshouldbeattendingto* cough*
> 
> If you enjoyed it please let me know with a comment! Kudos are awesome too!  
> Peace!


End file.
